The Other Side
by WarriorOfAvalon
Summary: As Briana Dursley, a common muggle, was waiting for her uncle to pick her up at Kings Cross station, getting dragged into an unexplainable adventure was the last thing on her mind. Later, she finds that there may be something more powerful than magic.
1. Chapter 1: The Other Side::

A/N: Anything you recognize from the book belongs to JK Rowling.  
  
::Chapter 1: The Other Side::  
  
Oh, where is he?! Briana thought to herself as she stood in front of platform 9 at Kings Cross station. The fifteen-year-old brunette was waiting for her second uncle, Uncle Vernon (the cousin of her father) to pick her up from the station. She was to spend the summer at their house, with his wife and his son (who's names she did not know), none of whom she had met before.  
  
She impatiently drummed her fingers on handle of the cart of luggage she was wheeling around, peering around the station. 'Look for a large man with a mustache,' her father had told her.  
  
Three kids who looked about her age, one bright redheaded boy and two girls, one with strangely poofy brown hair and the other with shoulder length red hair wheeled their luggage a few feet away from her.  
  
Cute, Briana thought as she peered at the tall boy from the corner of her eye. It seemed as thought they had just been reunited after a long summer, for the brown haired girl was gushing about how she had spend her summer, while the redhead squealed in laughter.  
  
"Where's Harry? We're gonna miss the train!" the redheaded boy exclaimed, taking out a pocket watch.  
  
The redheaded boy looked right towards her direction. His eyes widened. Briana glanced at him from the corner of her eye.  
  
"Harry!" he called out, waving his arm in the air.  
  
Her heart sank. He was looking at the person behind her.  
  
A skinny boy of about he same age walked up to the group, brushing his shaggy hair out of his eyes. She could've sworn she had seen a scar that strangely resembled a lightning bolt before his bangs fell back in place.  
  
"Hey, Ron, Hermione, Ginny," he said with a grin, dragging his luggage behind him. Was that a. . . owl he had with him? Strange choice for a pet, Briana thought with a scoff.  
  
She peered around the train station once more, looking for a large man with a mustache. No luck.  
  
"You guys, we should go now. Is the coast clear?"  
  
Briana glanced at them with interest. Is the coast clear? she repeated in her mind. What were they doing?  
  
And then the strangest thing happened.  
  
The redheaded boy looked around him for a moment, grabbed his luggage and. . . walked straight through the wall!  
  
Briana rubbed her eyes, and gawked at the group. Was she hallucinating?? But sure enough, the redhead was no where in sight.  
  
And then it happened again!  
  
The redheaded girl followed after him, then the brunette. Briana's heart pounded. What was going on?! Just as the boy with the owl was about to step through, she grabbed onto the back of his shirt.  
  
"What the-"  
  
She waited for the painful sensation of flesh against brick. It never came. Instead, she found herself in a train station similar to the one she had just been in.  
  
She gazed around. Strange people in hooded cloaks and pointed hats replaced the regular city people she had seen before. She laughed. What were these people thinking? Who were they anyway? And just where was she?  
  
". . .and she grabbed onto my shirt as I was coming through. . ."  
  
Briana whirled around to find herself face to face with the group she had been listening in on.  
  
The redheaded girl's eyes widened. "But. . . how?! She's a muggle!"  
  
She stared back at each of them in horror. "I'm a what?!"  
  
The boy with red hair nodded. "Yep. . . yep. Definitely a muggle, considering she doesn't even know what a muggle is!"  
  
Her heart raced. What's a muggle? Where was she? What was this place?! "Where am I?" she spoke in a voice that was almost a whimper, fear overtaking every part of her body.  
  
"Maybe she's a first year. . ."  
  
"But she looks our age!"  
  
"The poor girl," the bushy haired girl said, shaking her head. "She doesn't even know what's going on."  
  
"She has to go back!" The shaggy haired boy said, staring at the group. "She was able to get through here, so she must be able to go back!"  
  
The bushy haired girl spoke again. "No, Harry, think about what you're saying! She's already seen too much."  
  
"Maybe we can bash her on the head and leave her there so when she regains consciousness, she'll think this was all a dream," the redheaded boy suggested.  
  
"Ron!" the bushy haired girl said. "What a horrible thing to say! We can't do that!"  
  
"How about a charm, Hermione?" the redheaded girl spoke up.  
  
The bushy haired girl, who's name must've been Hermione (and a quite strange one too, Briana thought to herself), shook her head. "Ginny, you know we aren't allowed to use magic out of school."  
  
"Oh yeah. . ." the redheaded girl who went by Ginny sighed. "I forgot."  
  
"Magic?" Briana spoke up, terribly confused. "What do you mean, magic?"  
  
The four of them stood there, staring at her.  
  
"Isn't anyone going to answer me?!" she asked impatiently.  
  
Hermione glanced over at the others and said, "Well. . . we might as well. . . she isn't going anywhere. . ."  
  
Suddenly a whistle blew.  
  
"You guys! We better get on the train first!" The boy called Ron said frantically.  
  
"But-"  
  
Ginny's eyes widened. "Bring her along! I have a plan!"  
  
They debated on this situation for a few moments before they settled on a decision.  
  
"Come with us!" the boy called Harry said, gesturing towards them and he headed towards the train.  
  
"But. . . I don't know you!" Briana cried over the loud roar of the train.  
  
"You can't stay here alone!"  
  
He was right. She had no idea what was going on, who those people were, where they were taking her, where she was now. . . and she STILL didn't know what a muggle was. "Fine!" she cried over the noise, following them. She covered her ears as the train roared nearby, trying not to think of Uncle Vernon's reaction when she didn't show up.  
  
She followed the four into the train. Inside there were two rows of small compartments separated by an empty aisle in between.  
  
"In here."  
  
The five of them squeezed through the entrance of the nearest compartment. The bushy haired girl slid the door close.  
  
They took a seat, with the bushy haired girl sitting across from her and the redheaded girl sitting to her left, the redheaded boy to her right.  
  
"Let's start with our names. I'm Hermione Granger," she said, smiling. "What's yours?"  
  
Briana gulped, staring back and forth between the strange people. "My name is B-Briana. Briana Dursley."  
  
The others gasped.  
  
"Dursley??" the black haired boy repeated, his mouth gaping open.  
  
She nodded, staring back at them. "Um. . . what about you?"  
  
"I'm Harry, and this is Ginny and Ron," he replied, gesturing towards the redheaded girl and boy on either side of me. "Dursley?!" he repeated.  
  
"Yes!" she said, quite irritated by now. "Briana Dursley. That's my name. Is something the matter?!"  
  
Harry shook his head slowly. "I-I'm sorry. . . but are you by any chance related to someone by the name of Dudley Dursley?"  
  
She raised an eyebrow. "I don't think so. . . why do you ask?"  
  
"Harry, it's probably just a coincidence," Hermione spoke up, her eyes glued on Briana. "Now Ginny," she said, turning to the redheaded girl. "Tell us that plan of yours."  
  
"Alright," Ginny said, grinning. "Well, since muggles are certainly not allowed here. . ."  
  
There was that word again!  
  
". . .I thought maybe. . . Bridgette was it?"  
  
"Briana," Briana corrected.  
  
"Oh yes. Sorry about that. I thought maybe Briana could wear one of my spare robes and pose as a student-"  
  
"It wouldn't work," Hermione said, shaking her head. "Hogworts only take first years. And how will she get past Dumbledore?"  
  
"I know that, I'm not saying she has to go to all the classes and stuff, she's a muggle, she wouldn't be able to work with it anyway. I'm just saying she could get into one of my robes to blend in with the other students. Then after the sorting, we could hide her in our room-"  
  
"Ginny that's ridiculous!" Hermione exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "You don't expect her to hide here throughout the whole school year, do you? She probably has someplace to go. We should take this to Dumbledore."  
  
"I was suppose to wait for my Uncle Vernon, but-"  
  
"Uncle VERNON?!" Harry said, his eyes bulging. He adjusted his glasses.  
  
What was with this kid?! First with her last name, and now her uncle's! "YES, Uncle Vernon!" she said, frowning.  
  
"You have an Uncle Vernon!"  
  
"Yes, I just said that."  
  
"But you just said you didn't know a Dudley. . ."  
  
"I don't."  
  
"Then how-"  
  
"Harry, stop it," Hermione said, setting a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Let her explain her story." She turned to me. "Briana?"  
  
"Well, you see. . ." she started, uncomfortable with the attention. She fidgeted with her hands. "I uh. . . I was waiting for my Uncle Vernon-"  
  
Harry gawked.  
  
"-at the train station, because I was planning on spending a few weeks there, when I spotted you four. I heard you guys talking and then suddenly you-" she looked at Ron. "Ran right into that brick wall and disappeared!"  
  
Hermione slapped Ron's knee. "Ron! You have to be more careful! What if someone else saw you too?"  
  
"Sorry, 'Mione. . ." he mumbled.  
  
"Anyway," Briana continued, "I saw the rest of you go through it too, so naturally I needed to know what was going on. So I grabbed onto your shirt- " she eyed Harry. "-to ask you what was going on and. . . well, here I am."  
  
There was an awkward silence.  
  
Then someone finally spoke up. "Why would you want to spend time at the Dursley's?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Harry," Hermione said, giving him a warning look.  
  
"I AM a Dursley, thank you very much," Briana replied, insulted.  
  
"Tell us about them," Harry said curiously.  
  
Briana sighed. "Well, there's Uncle Vernon, his wife, and their son. I've never met them before so I don't know their names. . . Uncle Vernon is my father's cousin, you see. . . is that what you wanted to know?"  
  
Harry's eyes widened. "I lived with them all my life!" he exclaimed, his surprised expression turning into a grin.  
  
"What?"  
  
"We'll explain later," Hermione cut in. "Right now, we have to focus on what we're going to with you."  
  
"I thought we were going to take her to Dumbledore," Ron said, looking terribly confused.  
  
Ginny rolled her eyes. "That's what we're planning. But what would everyone say when they saw us bringing a muggle into the school, halfwit?"  
  
Ron scowled.  
  
"I say she dress up in one of my robes, and THEN we take her to Dumbledore," Ginny said, beaming.  
  
"If you don't mind my asking," Briana spoke up. "But what's a. . . muggle?"  
  
"Non magic folk," Ron replied simply.  
  
There was another awkward silence.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"We're witches and wizards," Ginny said as though they were common household words.  
  
Insane would fit more appropriately, Briana thought to herself. She laughed. "Witches? Wizards? Are you joking?"  
  
Hermione sighed. "I'm afraid not."  
  
"Do some 'magic', then," Briana said with an amused grin.  
  
"Wasn't going through the brick wall 'magic' enough for you?" Harry asked, his mouth still gaping open.  
  
She thought about this for a moment. He was right. But still. . . they couldn't be SERIOUS, could they??  
  
Briana closed her eyes. This had to be a dream.  
  
A/N: Hey! I hope you enjoyed the beginning of this story! Please remember to review! 


	2. Chapter 2: Hogwarts::

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I hope you enjoy the next chapter! Oh, and anything you recognize from the book belongs to JK Rowling.  
  
::Chapter 2: Hogworts::  
  
This is a dream, Briana thought with her eyes closed. She breathed in slowly. When I open my eyes, I'll be back at the station, waiting for Uncle Vernon. . .  
  
She slightly peeked open her right eye. Peering through the narrow slit, she caught a glimpse of a bushy haired girl. Hermione. A witch.  
  
Briana groaned before fully opening both her eyes.  
  
"What'sa matter?" Ron asked, peering at her.  
  
She shook her head. "Nothing. I think I'm going crazy, that's all."  
  
"Oh," he replied. He dug into his pocket and pulled something out. . . a brown frog? "Then in that case, have a chocolate frog. You'll feel better in no time. It's one of my favorites," he said, handing it to the girl.  
  
Briana held it in her hand, inspected it curiously, before bringing it up to her mouth. But to her surprise, it jumped out of her palm before it reached her lips. She let out a shriek.  
  
"You should have warned her about that. . ." Ginny squealed, cupping the airborne frog in between her hands.  
  
She handed it back to Briana, who reluctantly accepted.  
  
"It's regular chocolate," she explained, grinning at Briana's horrified expression.  
  
"It MOVES. . ." Briana whispered in a frightened voice. "But, how-"  
  
"It was hard for me to believe too, when I first got my letter from Hogworts," Hermione said.  
  
"Hogworts?"  
  
"Hogworts, school of witchcraft and wizardry," she explained. "I grew up thinking I was a muggle." ' They had explained earlier that a 'muggles' were 'non-magic folk".  
  
"I'm a muggle," Briana said unsurely.  
  
Hermione nodded. "You are."  
  
"But how did she get past platform 9 ¾?" Harry asked suspiciously. "No muggle ever got past the wall."  
  
"Because most muggles are sensible enough NOT to try to walk though a solid brick wall," said Hermione. "Harry, think about it. What kind of a person would think to themselves, 'I wonder what would happen if I walk into this wall?' and expect to find themselves in another world? It's common sense."  
  
"I guess you're right. . ."  
  
"Anyway, we'll get everything sorted out when we get to Dumbledore."  
  
After a few more minutes of random discussion, they decided that it was best for Briana to disguise herself in one of Ginny's spare robes.  
  
The train came to a screeching halt, and the students boarded out.  
  
Briana gasped as she saw the self moving carriages whisk the students away.  
  
"So, Potter, Mudblood, Weasels," a low voice drawled from behind them. A chill when up Briana's spine. "I see you've got yourselves a new friend here."  
  
Briana turned around and came face to face with a tall, slim boy about her age. His blonde hair was slicked back and he was accompanied by two oversized boys that resembled the evil trolls in the fairy tales her mother used to read her when she was just a child. She shuddered.  
  
"Who are YOU?" he spat, scowling at Briana. "Not another mudblood, I hope?"  
  
"A. . . wha? Mudblood?" she replied, clearly confused.  
  
"Yeah," the blonde boy smirked. "Didn't you know that Granger here is a mudblood?" He peered at her closely. "I see you're wearing Gryffindor colors. . . how strange. I haven't seen you here before. You must be new."  
  
"Leave her alone, Malfoy," Ron said, glaring at the blonde boy.  
  
Malfoy sneered, glaring at the redheaded boy. "I was only asking a question, Wealey." Then he turned his gaze back towards Briana. He stared at hre suspiciously. "You don't LOOK like a first year. . ."  
  
"A what?" Briana asked, looking back and forth between the group of students. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Ginny elbowed Briana in the side. "She uhh- she's not. A first year, that is. She's in her fifth year. She's uhh-"  
  
Hermione widened her eyes, giving Ginny a 'what-are-you-doing?!' look.  
  
"-she's a transfer student from Beaxbaton!" Ginny blurted. "Yeah, that's right!"  
  
Malfoy gave a smirk, snapped his fingers, and he and his two cronies walked away. "She's probably another mudblood. . ." Briana heard him mumble.  
  
They boarded onto a carriage, which carried them to an incredibly beautiful castle-like building. Briana stared in awe as she hopped off the carriage.  
  
"This is. . . a SCHOOL??" she asked, grinning.  
  
"Come on!" Hermione said, dragging Briana by the elbow. She gestured for her friends to follow. "We've got to get her to Dumbledore!"  
  
"Dumbledore?"  
  
"Our headmaster," Hermione explained.  
  
They entered the castle and raced down a great hallway before reaching a room packed with students. "Wait here," Hermione whispered before racing in. A few minute later she came back, but she wasn't alone. A tall, old, robed man with the longest white beard Briana had ever seen was standing by her side.  
  
He adjusted his half-moon spectacles, peering at the girl. "Oh. . . so I see," he said simple. "Follow me, all five of you."  
  
They followed him down the corridors, before stopping in front of a painting of an old man.  
  
"Password?" the man spoke.  
  
Briana jumped. Did that picture just speak? She rubbed her eyes, and, indeed, the picture was moving. Before she got a chance to ask about it the headmaster replied, "Jellybean."  
  
The painting swung open, revealing quite a large entranceway to a stairwell. Briana climbed in after the old man and followed him up the stairs, her friends from the train trailing right behind her.  
  
They entered a large office-like room, moving paintings like the one at the entrance covering the walls.  
  
"Why, hello there, Albus!"  
  
"Now, who do we have here?"  
  
"Look! It's the Potter boy!"  
  
The paintings greeted the headmaster all at once. He greeted the painting with a smile, before shushing them. He turned to Briana.  
  
"What's the story?"  
  
At once, Hermione blurted what had happened at the train station.  
  
"I see," he said, nodding as he rubbed him chin. "Quite an unusual circumstance. . . it's never happened before, but no worry. A simple memory charm will do and we'll send her back-"  
  
"Wait! A memory charm?!" Briana cut in, staring at the headmaster as though he were crazy. "What in the world is that?"  
  
He sighed, raising a crooked stick like object into the air. "A memory charm will erase any trace of memory you have of what happened. You will no longer remember any of these children-" he gestured towards Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Harry. "-nor myself. You'll be back at the trainstation-"  
  
"How would you do that?"  
  
Ron raised an eyebrow. "Do what?"  
  
"The memory charm," she replied, scrunching up her forehead. It took all she had not to burst out into laughter. These people were insane.  
  
"With a wand, of course."  
  
A what?! Briana peered at the headmaster, and, indeed, the stick he was holding in his hand must've been a. . . wand.  
  
"And you four," the headmaster directed towards the others. "Must never speak of her again. Understand?"  
  
They nodded, before Ginny spoke up. "But Malfoy. Malfoy saw her when we got off the train."  
  
"That's quite alright, as long as it was only one person."  
  
"Crabbe and Goyle were there too," Harry added.  
  
The headmaster chuckled. "I don't think we have to worry about those two." He turned to Briana. "And now, for the charm-" He began waving his wand, chanting some weird words when-  
  
"STOP!" Briana shrieked, moving out of the way. A spark of light barely missed her shoulder. Horrified, she stared at the five people in the room. "What was that?! I thought this was a joke!"  
  
They shook their heads in unison.  
  
"You people are dead serious, aren't you?"  
  
"Poor girl. . . she's afraid," Hermione said compassionately. "It's alright, the charm won't hurt a bit-"  
  
"I'm NOT afraid," Briana lied. She glanced at the headmaster. "Please," she said, "I-I want to remember. I don't want to forget."  
  
"Can't you just send her back without altering her memory?" Ron suggested with a shrug.  
  
Hermione shook her head furiously. "Absolutely not! It's much too risky, Ron."  
  
"Yeah. . . just a suggestion. . ."  
  
"Can't I stay here?" Briana pleaded.  
  
Dumbledore eyed her sadly. "I'm afraid not. This is a school for witches and wizards. Up until now you didn't even know such a thing existed, and you still have your doubts, I'm sure of it."  
  
He was right.  
  
He continued to speak. "And how are we suppose to explain a new student who's clearly a grown girl when Hogworts only accepts new first years?"  
  
"A reverse-ageing charm," Ron said.  
  
"Ron! That isn't funny," Hermione scolded.  
  
"What? I was being serious," he mumbled.  
  
"Well," Ginny spoke up, "I told Malfoy that- that she was a transfer student from Beaxbaton. . . I mean, if she stays, she can just borrow my spare robes, put on a fake French accent-"  
  
I could do that! Briana thought to herself. She had taken a beginners French class at the school a few years back so she was quite familiar with the dialogue.  
  
"Miss Weasley, I think you're forgetting the main problem here. This girl- she's, well, she's a MUGGLE."  
  
Suddenly Harry spoke up. "Professor Dumbledore! I think YOU'RE the one forgetting something. You're the headmaster, right?"  
  
He nodded. "Indeed I am."  
  
"Well, then, you can inform all the teachers of Briana's. . . condition. . . and she can go to classes and stuff DISGUISED as a student, but of course, she'll be getting special treatment because she can't do magic. . ."  
  
"Actually, Mister Potter, you've got a point there. . ." Dumbledore replied. "Miss Briana here would be quite capable of mixing potions, studying magical creatures, riding brooms-with the aid of another student, of course. . ."  
  
"Then it's settled!" Ginny squealed exitedly.  
  
"But-" the headmaster continued, eyeing the girl. "She won't be capable of using a wand."  
  
Ginny sighed disappointedly. "Please, Professor, give her a chance!"  
  
Dumbledore thought to himself for a moment before speaking. "Are you sure of this, Briana?"  
  
Briana froze. What was she doing?! These people were crazy! They belonged in a mental institute. . . but. . . so much has already happened and she didn't want to forget any of it. . . "I want to stay."  
  
Dumbledore sighed. "I'll inform the teachers and have letters sent out to you're relatives. Quite a coincidence that you and Mister Potter here are distant relatives, I must say. . ."  
  
"ALRIGHT!" Ginny sqealed. "She gets to be in my dorm, right? I mean, she's a fifth year, I know about her. . . muggleness. . ."  
  
"Of course, Miss Weasley," Dumbledore said with a chuckle. He faced Briana. "Remember, try to keep a low profile."  
  
"Thank you so much!" She said with a nod. ". . .professor," she added.  
  
"You five may return to the sorting ceremony."  
  
They six of them climbed down the spiral steps. "And I expect you, Miss Granger, to inform Miss Briana of the school."  
  
Hermione nodded. "Of course."  
  
Briana could hear the laughter and chatter of the students in what seemed to be a great dining room.  
  
Before the six of them stepped in to join the fun, Dumble leaned in a whispered, "Remember to use a French accent, Mademoiselle."  
  
A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please remember to review! 


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